The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

VA Primary Hope Mostly Gone

Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 12 Comments

by Smitty

Via Dell’s Bottom Line, it sounds like there is a bit of hope for a write-in opportunity here in the Old Dominion:

The last hope for Virginia conservatives to vote for one of their own in the March 6, 2012 presidential primary lies in the timely passage of state senator Frank W. Wagner’s SB 510 allowing write-in voting in that election.
By conservative, we mean those who believe the next president should be committed to the long march toward downsizing government and curtailing the administrative state, strengthening our Judeo-Christian culture, and maintaining a strong defense.
The bill is an emergency measure (see article IV, section 13 in foregoing link) requiring four-fifths approval in both chambers and the governor’s assent if it to take effect before the March 6 presidential primary.

Anecdotally, of the people I know who are paying attention to the GOP debates and such, the mood is to blow the GOP primary off entirely if it’s down to Romney or Paul. Of the two, I’m about 49% Romney and 51% Paul in my thinking, at least at the primary stage. Past experience has shown that there just isn’t a line at these primary affairs, so saving time isn’t a strong argument.

Given the opportunity for write-in, Santorum comes to mind. The wild follicle pines for Palin, though.

I’ve no idea whether the ’emergency’ measure can pass, but I’m not holding any breath for it.

Update: it may not merit a post in its own right, but I will now wish good vibes upon Rick Santorum via the PJ Media Shameless Contact Gathering ExerciseNostradamus contest, where you predict the Florida primary numbers.

Category: Virginia

Comments

12 Responses to “VA Primary Hope Mostly Gone”

  1. Bert Spence
    January 27th, 2012 @ 6:10 pm

    What could Republicans in Virginia be so afraid of regarding a two-man, head-to-head matchup between Paul and Romney?

    Hmmmm.  http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/207013-ron-paul-will-defeat-mitt-romney-in-the-virginia-primary

  2. Dell Hill
    January 27th, 2012 @ 6:14 pm

    Thanks for the linky-love, Admiral.  I appreciate ya’.

  3. CO
    January 27th, 2012 @ 6:40 pm

    VA is pretty much a write off, isn’t it?

  4. Sven
    January 27th, 2012 @ 7:09 pm

    …the wild follicle pines…

    I don’t believe those four words have every been strung together before. 

  5. smitty
    January 27th, 2012 @ 7:19 pm

    VA could turn into a weird anti-Mitt protest.

  6. smitty
    January 27th, 2012 @ 7:20 pm

    I am semi-infamous for my English abuse.

  7. Dave C
    January 27th, 2012 @ 7:32 pm

    I
    find myself in a well, hanging onto a branch. Unable to let go because
    Romney is at the bottom. And not wanting to climb up because Ron Paul
    waiting at the opening of the well.

  8. smitty
    January 27th, 2012 @ 7:53 pm

    Oh, well.

  9. Dave C
    January 27th, 2012 @ 10:53 pm

    I read part of  Tolstoy’s “A Confession” and that passage really stuck with me..

  10. Edward
    January 27th, 2012 @ 11:46 pm

    English isn’t a language.  It’s a guideline.

  11. Adjoran
    January 28th, 2012 @ 1:20 am

    Once it was considered conservative to play by the rules.  Alan Keyes and Denis Kucinich managed to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot previously when petition signatures HAD to include the last four SSN digits for verification, making it harder to get people to sign.

    Does no one appreciate how silly it sounds to say, “Sure, he couldn’t manage to qualify for the ballot as Keyes and Kucinich did, but he is qualified to be President!”?

    Gingrich, by the way, also failed to qualify for the Missouri ballot. 

  12. Doug Mataconis
    January 28th, 2012 @ 8:44 am

    The only way this legislation can pass on an emergency basis would be if 90% of both houses of the legislature agreed to it. That’s not going to happen.

    Also, there’s the little fact that the absentee and military ballots have already been printed and mailed. They don’t have a write-in space (in compliance with Virginia law).

    Legally, politically, and practically speaking this proposed bill is a dead letter. At least as far as the March 6 primary is concerned.